Cap'n, the trading of a few miles range for performance seems to be going in the wrong direction. I would think that people would realize that this is not something they are really going to use. Really, how many people street race these days? It is really the relative skill and agressiveness of the driver that counts.

On the other hand, if this helps sell more cars, so be it. A Cadillac owner will not be as price sensitive as a Chevrolet owner, so much of the discussion around the Volt will not be relevant.

I do wonder at the weight, though. You list the car as a compact with a weight of two tons. Wow!!

A few weeks ago, Ford Motor Co. quietly announced that it was rolling out a new wrinkle to the powerful safety feature called stability control, adding even more lifesaving potential to a technology that has already been very successful.

A well-known automotive consultant who did an extensive teardown of BMW’s i3 all-electric car said its design is groundbreaking in multiple ways. “We’ve torn down about 450 cars, and we’ve never analyzed anything like this before.”

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